Operating and locking mechanism for prison doors



May 21, 1957 P. M. SMITH ET'AL OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR PRISON DOORS Filed Jan. 17, 1955 5 Sneets-Sheet 1 May 21, 1957 Q P. M. SMITH ETAL RISON DOORS OPERATING AND LOCKING'MECHANISM FOR P 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1955 INVENTOR. PER/6? 4/ 5/1/075 BY mi/544 IVY/777510 May 21, 1957 P. M. SMITH ETAL 2,792,917

- OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR PRISON DOORS Filed Jan. 17, 1955 5 Sneets-Shee'c 3 NVENTOR.

May 21, 1957 P. M. SMITH ETAL 2,792,917

OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR PRISON DOORS Filed Jan. 17, 1955 5 Sneets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Fifi/P) 4/ .sw/ry ,6 ufllzs xx a l/ 7:10 BY May 21, 1957 P. M. SMITH ETAL OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR PRISON DOORS Filed Jan. 17, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 W TOP/V5715 OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR PRISON DUORS Perry M. Smith and James H. Whitfield, Decatur, Ala.,

assignors to Decatur Iron & Steel Company, a corporation of Delaware Application January 17, 1955, Serial No. 482,184

6 Claims. (Cl. 189-7) This invention relates to door operating and locking means, particularly to means for operating and locking prison doors and has for an object the provision of apparatus of the character designated which shall include improved means, operable from a point remote from the doors, which shall be effective to lock the doors both in open and in closed positions and to unlock the doors and move them from closed to open position and back to closed position. A further object of our invention is to provide a prison door in which the main locking bolt is housed in a stationary vertical post and in which the bolt is engageable with parts carried by the door both at the top and bottom of the door to hold it both in open and in closed positions, and in which other means cooperating between relatively movable parts on the door and on stationary members, and enclosed in a tamper proof housing constitute additional locking means for the door.

A still further object of our invention is to provide operating and locking means for a prison door which shall include a pair of relatively movable bars carried by the door and provided with suitable recesses and openings, with one or more metal balls carried in the recesses, and which cooperate to elfect opening and closing movements of the door and cooperate with a stationary bar to restrain the door against unauthorized movement in either opening or closing direction.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide operating means for a prison door which shall include a stationary bar, a bar mounted on the door and movable alongside the stationary bar, a cam bar mounted on and movable relative to the bar on the door, together with means cooperating with all of said bars whereby the door can be moved in an opening or a closing direction only by actuation of the cam bar. 7

Apparatus embodying features of our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view partly broken away and in section and showing a cell door in closed position;

Fig. 1a is a sectional view taken along line Ia--Ia of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view, partly broken away and in section, showing details of the locking and operating mechanism at the top of the cell door;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional View through the locking mechanism taken along the line III-11! of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional View through the locking mechanism taken along the line IVlV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the locking mechanism taken along the line V- V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken along the line VIVI of Fig. 5;

Fig. -7 is afragrnental isometric view showing a portion of the, cam bar and door bar when in relative locked positions;

atent Fig, 8 is a detail sectional view taken generally along the line VIIL-VIII of Fig. 5, with parts omitted;

Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic sectional views showing the relative positions of the cam bar, door bar, and stationary bar when the cell door is in closed and locked position, closed and unlocked position, open and unlocked position and in opened and locked position, respectively; and,

Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 9 illustrating a modified form of our invention.

Referring now to the drawings, we show in Figs. 1 and 2 a fragment of a conventional prison cell block 10 having the usual conventional, barred cell door 11. The structure embodies an upper front track angle 13 and a baflie support in the form of an angle 14 which extend along the cell block and across the door opening 12. Mounted beneath the door 11 is a lower frame member 16. Mounted at the sides of the door opening 1 2:jare the usual fixed gratings 15 and 15a. Secured to-the fixed grating 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and la, is a strike plate 20 having an inwardly extending flange 20:: at the outer end thereof which extends alongside the outer edge of the door 11 when the same is moved to closed positlon.

Secured tothe top of the door 11 is a door hanger 17 the lower horizontal flange of which extends under the horizontal flange of the track angle 13. See Figs. 3, .4 and 5. The upper part of the door hanger 17 is secured by means of cap screws 18 to an elongated bar 19 which will be referred to hereafter in this specification as a door bar. Journaled on the lower side of the door bar by means of cap screws 21 are a pair of rollers '22 which rest upon and are adapted to roll along a track 23 secured to the track angle 13 and thus support the door for opening and closing movements. Extending across and forming the bottom of the door 11 is a frame member 24 having a guide slot 26 on the underside thereof which straddles the upper edge of the frame member 16. The bar 24 has. an inner depending flange 27 which is provided with a notch 28 to receive a detent 29 (to be described more in detail hereafter) to hold the door in locked position. As viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, the notch 28 is on the right hand side of the door it and a similar notch 31 is provided in the member 24 on the left hand side which receives the detent 29 when the door 11 is in open position, and holds it in that position.

Connected to, and extending upwardly from the battle support 14 is a transom plate 312 which has a lower in turned flange 33 extending under and secured to the bafile support 14. At the upper end of the transom plate 32 is an outturned flange 34 to which. is secured a rerelation therewith. Mounted on the door bar 19 is what is to be referred to herein as a cam bar 41, which is secured to the door bar by means of threaded studs and nuts 42 which pass through elongated slots 43 and 44 in the cam bar and thence into the door bar permitting relative movement therebetween whereby the cam bar is movable relative to the door bar 19 for a limited distance.

See Figs. 2 and 4. Spaced apart on the upper edge of the cam bar 41 a distance somewhat greater than the width of the cell door 11 are two inclined cam surfaces 46 and d7, which are downwardly inclined awayfrom' each other. Each of the inclined surfaces. 46 and 47 terminatesin a'fiat surface. .48and vertical wall 50 thus forming a notch with one inclined side. Extending, over the fiat surface 48 is a hook like cam member 49, the underside of which is beveled or sloped downwardly as shown at 51 in Fig. 7. The hook like members 49 face each other as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The door bar 19 is provided with two rectangular notches 52 and 55 which are adapted to register, or come opposite the fiat surface 48 on the cam bar 41 when the door 11 is in closed position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and when in the open position as later to be described.

Referring particularly to Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12, the door bar 19 is provided with a pair of spaced elongated slots 53 and 54. The stationary bar 39 is provided with a pair of conical recesses 56 and 57, the recess 56 coming opposite the slot 53 when the door 11 is in closed position and the recess 57 coming opposite the slot 54 when the door 11 is in open position. The cam bar 41 is provided with a pair of conical recesses 58 and 59, spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the spacing of the slots 53 and 54 and which are so spaced that the recess 59 is opposite the slot 54 when the door 11 is in closed and locked position and the recess 58 is slightly beyond the slot 53 when the door is in closed and locked position. Mounted in the slots 53 and 54 are a pair of steel balls 61 and 62. The steel balls are somewhat larger in diameter than the thickness of the door bar 19 in which the slots 53 and 54 are formed so that the balls must at all times be seated in one of the conical recesses either in the stationary bar or in the cam bar. As shown in Fig. 9 of the drawing with the door 11 in closed and locked position, the ball 61 is in the recess 56 of the stationary bar 39 and the ball 62 is in the recess 59 in the cam bar 41. With the parts in this position, it will be seen that if the cam bar 41 be moved to the right from the position shown in the draw ing toward that shown in Fig. 10, the ball 61 will move into the recess 58 in the bar 41 and the ball 62 remaining in the recess 59 will engage the door bar 19 to move the door. It will also be seen that should anyone attempt to open the door without moving the cam bar that the balls engaging the ends of the slots 53 or 54 as the case might be would prevent such movement.

Mounted in the cell structure alongside, the door opening 12, and joined to the upper and lower frame members 33 and 16 is a hollow lock post 63. The lock post is formed of front and rear channel members 64 and 66 (Fig. 6) which are joined together by fiat bars 67 and 68. Mounted in the door post and extending the length thereof is a locking bolt 69 the upper end of which terminates above the bars 19 and 41. Pivotally mounted at 71 on the lower end of the locking bolt is the already described detent 29 which in turn is pivoted intermediate its ends at 72 upon a stationary member 73. Thus, lowering the bolt 69 engages the detent 29 with the notch 28 and raising the bolt disengages it. The locking bolt 69 passes through suitable openings75 and 74 provided in the angle members 14 and 33 and 38 and 39.

Mounted on the upper end of the locking bolt 69 and secured thereto by nuts 76 and 77 is an arm 78 having laterally spaced downturned bracket members 79 and 81 between which is journalled a roller 82 on a cross axle 83. The roller 82 rests on the door bar 19 and cam bar 41 at all times. A notch 84 in the vertical flange 39 forming the stationary bar provides room for the bracket members 79 and 81 to move up and down. Secured to the transom plate 32 is a guide member 86 which serves to confine the movements of the locking bolt to a vertical direction.

As already indicated, the door 11 is moved from open to closed position and from closed to open position by actuation of the cam bar 41 and through it the door bar 19 and door 11. The cam bar 41 is actuated mechanically by means of a reversible electric motor 91 which is mounted in the housing formed by the track box cover 36,- and on the transom plate 32. As is well understood, actual starting and stopping of the motor 91 will be cffected from some place (not shown) remote from the cell block. The motor 91, through the medium of a worm gear (not shown) drives a sprocket 92 and chain 93 which drives a sprocket 94 mounted on a shaft 96. The shaft 96 through suitable sprockets 97 only one of which is shown drives sprocket chain 98 which is secured to the cam bar 41 at 99. By the means shown, the cam bar 41 may be moved in either direction to open and close the door.

At 101 we show, diagrammatically, a clutch shift lever by means of which the drive from the electric motor 91 may be disengaged and a manual drive substituted through a sprocket 102 and sprocket chain 103 leading to a suitable sprocket on the shaft 96. By using a suitable crank the sprocket 102 can be rotated manually to actuate the cam bar 41. It will be understood of course, that manual operating means will be so housed and protected as to be inaccessible to prison inmates.

Referring to Fig. 13 of the drawing, we show a modified form of our invention in which, instead of mounting spherical steel balls in the recesses 53 and 54, we may mount small rollers such as 104 and 106 and provide recesses 107 and 108 in the bars 39 and 41 suitably shaped to receive the rollers when the bars are in the proper relative positions.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 7, 8 and 9 to 12 inclusive the operation of my improved door operating mechanism will be readily understood. Fig. 9 shows the cam bar 41, door bar 19 and the stationary bar 39 in their relative positions when the door 11 is closed and locked. Figs. 2, 7 and 8 also show the relative positions of the door bar 19, the cam bar 41, and the locking bolt 69 with its roller 82 resting in the notch 52 in the door bar and at the bottom of the inclined surface 47 in the cam bar. The detent 29 is then engaged in the notch 28 in the lower bar 24 on the door 11. In that position, the ball 61 is in the recess 56 opposite the slot 53 and the ball 62 is in the recess 59 opposite the slot 54, so that the door is firmly held in locked position. To open the door, the cam bar 41 is moved to the right as viewed in Figs. 2, 7, 8 and 9 to 12, whereupon the inclined cam surface 47 of the cam bar 41 engages the roller 82 and raises it up out of the notch 52 in the door bar 19 so that the door bar and cam bar are free to move relative to the roller 82 which then rests on the upper edges of the door bar and cam bar. As the cam bar moves to the right, the ball 61 moves into the recess 58 and the ball 62 engages the right hand end of the recess 54 to move the door to the right, as shown in Fig. 10 of the drawing. Further movement of the cam bar 41 carries the door bar 19 to the position shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings in which position the ball 62 in the recess 54 is opposite the recess 57 in the stationary bar 39. In this position, the door 11 is wide open and the door bar 19 has struck a door stop 110 which prevents further travel in an opening direction. The cam bar 41 continues to move to the right which causes the ball 62 to enter the recess 57 in the stationary bar and the ball 61 engages the right hand end of the recess 53. This prevents further movement to the right of the cam bar 41. As the cam bar moves to the position just described, the hook member 49 at the opposite end of the cam bar engages the roller 82 on the arm 78 of the locking bolt and pulls it down into the notch 55 in the other end of the door bar 19 and causes it to move down the cam surface 46 along the flat surface 48 and against the vertical surface 50 in the cam bar. This moves the locking bolt 69 downwards and causes the detent 29 to engage with the notch 31 in the bottom of the door member 24.

To close the door 11, the cam bar 41 is actuated in the direction opposite to that just described and the reverse movements occur. The first movement toward the left of the cam bar 41 from the position shown in Fig. 12 causes the balls 61 and 62 to assume the position shown in Fig. 11 in which the ball 61 has engaged the left hand end of the slot 53 in the door bar 19 and starts the door to move toward closing position. As the door reaches closing position, the door bar 19 strikes the stop 111 when the bar has reached the position shown in Fig. whereupon, the cam bar continues to move to the position shown in Fig. 9 in which the ball 61 has again reentered the recess 56 and the ball 62 has engaged the left hand end of the recess 54. The hook member 49 on the cam bar 41 has again engaged the roller 82 and moved the locking bolt 69 downwards as shown in Figs. 2, 7 and 8 to re-engage the detent 29 with the bottom of the door.

With the modification shown in Fig. 13 of the drawing the operation is the same as that already described, the rollers 104 and 106 taking their positions in the recesses 107 and 108 in the same manner as described for the balls 61 and 62 and recesses 53 and 54.

It will be noted that the locking bolt 69 is connected to the roller 82 and falls by gravity into the notches 52 and 55. The inclined surface 51 serves as a knock down means, whereby when the roller 82 is in the position shown in Fig. 8, an overriding safety device is provided. An improved safety feature of our door operating and locking means is that, even if the hook like member 49 could be broken off and the locking bar, which is inaccessible, could be lifted to unlock the door, the steel balls would provide an additional lock whereby the door could not be rolled open. When the door is moved to fully closed or opened position, it is locked in three places, namely by the steel balls, the roller '82, and by the detent 29 at the bottom of the door.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that we have devised improved means for operating and locking prison doors which is simple and sturdy of design and reliable in operation and in which the opportunity for unauthorized operation is greatly minimized.

While we have shown our invention in but two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and we desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In operating and locking means for a prison door movable laterally across a door opening, a door bar mounted fixedly on the upper end of the door and having a pair of spaced elongated slots therein, a stationary bar fixedly mounted alongside the door bar and having a pair of recesses therein each of which lies opposite a slot in the door bar when the door is in fully open and in fully closed positions, a metal ball mounted in each of the slots, each ball being of a diameter to fit snugly in the slot and in a recess provided in the stationary bar thereby to hold the door against uauthorized movement, and a cam bar mounted on and movable relative to the door bar opposite the stationary bar and having a pair of recesses therein disposed opposite the slots in the door bar adapted upon movement relative to the door bar to receive the metal balls and thereby engage the door bar to move the door.

2. In operating and locking means for a prison door movable laterally across a door opening, a door bar mounted fixedly on the upper end of the door and having a pair of spaced elongated slots therein, a stationary bar fixedly mounted alongside the door bar in sliding relation therewith and having a pair of recesses therein each of which lies opposite a slot in the door bar when the door is in fully open and in fully closed position, a metal ball mounted in each of the slots, each of a diameter tofit snugly in the slot and a recess in the stationary bar and hold the door against unauthorized movement, a cam bar mounted on the slidable relative to the door bar opposite the stationary bar and having a pair of recesses therein disposed opposite the slots in the door bar adapted upon movement relative to the door bar to receive the metal balls and thereby engage the door bar to move the door, a door post mounted alongside the door opening, a locking bolt for the door mounted in the door post and movable downward to locked position and movable upward to unlocked position, and means on the cam bar to raise and lower the locking bolt as the door is being opened and closed.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which a detent is provided on the lower end of the locking bolt engageable with the door when the door is in wide open and in closed position, and in which an arm on the upper end of the locking bolt is disposed to bear on the upper edges of the door bar and the cam bar and be engaged by the cam bar to move the bolt to raised and lowered positions, there being slots in the door bar to receive the arm when the bolt is in lowered position.

4. For use in opening, closing and locking a sliding door, a bar mounted on the door for sliding movement relative to the door, a fixed member alongside which the door slides, there being a slot in the door bar and recesses in the fixed member and in the bar which are alignable in one relative position of the door, bar and fixed member, and a locking member fitting in the slot and shiftable from a position partially in the slot and in. the recess of the fixed member to a position partially in the slot and in the recess in the bar, said locking member being of a size relative to the slot and said recesses to lock the door selectively to the bar or to said fixed member.

5. In apparatus for operating and locking; sliding prison doors, a door bar fixedly mounted on the upper end of the door, a cam bar mounted on one side of the door bar for sliding movement relative thereto, a stationary bar mounted on the other side of the door bar in sliding relation therewith, a pair of spaced elongated slots provided in the door bar, a pair of recesses provided in the cam bar spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the said slots and disposed to align with said slots upon appropriate movement of the cam bar, a pair of recesses provided in the stationary bar one of which is aligned with one of said slots when the door is in open position and the other when the door is in closed position, a locking member thicker than the door bar mounted in each of said slots in the door bar and movable into an aligned recess upon appropriate movement of the cam bar, and means to actuate the cam bar.

6. In apparatus for operating and locking sliding prison doors, a door bar fixedly mounted on the upper end of the door, a cam bar mounted on one side of the door bar for sliding movement relative thereto, a station ary bar mounted on the other side of the door bar in sliding relation therewith, a pair of spaced elongated slots provided in the door bar, a pair of recesses provided in the cam bar spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the said slots and disposed to align with said slots upon appropriate movement of the cam bar, a pair of recesses provided in the stationary bar one of which is aligned with one of said slots when the door is in open position and the other when the door is in closed position, a locking member thicker than the door bar mounted in each of said slots in the door bar and movable into an aligned recess upon appropriate movement of the cam bar, means to actuate the cam bar, a vertically moving locking bolt having means at top and bottom to engage the door and hold it against movement from a fully closed and a fully open position, and cooperative means on the cam bar and on the locking bolt operable upon actuation of the cam bar to move the bolt and disengage it from the door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

